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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

As some of you may know that follow this blog, I'm a proud alumnus of Pioneer High School which is directly across the street from the Big House. I'm proud that two former Pioneer's will be joining the 2010 Wolverines this year. One of course is Florida high school transfer Ricardo Miller and the other is walk-on kicker Jeremy Ross. Jeremy was nice enough to do an interview talking about the opportunity he has at Michigan:

Background:

5"5 and 145 pounds

Named Free Press Dream Team Kicker

Associated Press Division 1/2 All State First Team

22/25 career field goals at Pioneer

8 career field goals over 40 yards

Senior season was 9/10 in field goals and made all 48 PAT's

BHB:I see that you have graduated from Pioneer early. When do you plan on enrolling at Michigan?

JR: I plan on enrolling at Michigan in June for the summer. I chose to graduate early so I can get in the weight room more often and kick too. Also being a walk on I've got to pay my way in, so I'm also taking this time to work, having the opportunity to play for Michigan and Coach Rod was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

BHB: What has the Michigan coaches said to you about kicking for the Wolverines? JR: The Michigan coaches have told me their kicking situation. With Brendan on scholarship and Will coming in, I will have to earn my playing time but I'm not afraid of the challenge.

BHB: If you were a evaluating Jeremy as a kicker what would you say about him?

JR: If I was evaluating Jeremy as a kicker I would say that he is very consistent. His form makes up for his lack of size and he proves it with every kick. He shows his worth with his consistency. If he was asked to go out there and make 10/10 kick he wouldn't shy away from it.(Unless it was from 37 yards, in my career I'm 22/25 and every one that I missed has been from 37 yards, its really weird and when I go out on the field I don't even think about it.

BHB: What is the longest field goal you have kicked in a game or at practice?

JR: In a game my longest field goal is 45 yards, in practice I've hit from 55 yards, and out of my 22 field goals in high school 8 are from 40+ yards.

BHB:I know Ricardo Miller was only at PiHi for one season but can you talk about your relationship and what it means to be teammates again at Michigan?JR: Ricardo and I met right before he came into camp and I went up to him and introduced myself. I didn't know much about him and vice versa. It became evident that we might be teammates when I was invited to the first game vs Western Michigan. We kind of hit it off from there and now we get a long really well. As I look at it now I feel some comfort because I'm not going in alone, and I've got somebody to show me around because he'll have been there for a semester. But to sum it all up I look forward to spending the next four years with him as a teammate.

BHB: What are your goals at Michigan as a student and a kicker?

JR: At Michigan my goals are just like the other student athletes. Football wise, I'm going to work towards being a starter, maybe be the next Reggie Ho, except from Michigan of course. Academically I want to get in to The Ross School of Business, from there I'd like to earn my BBA.

BHB: Did you have an opportunity to kick at any other Universities?JR: I did have opportunities to kick at other Universities, there were a couple other D1 programs that I spoke with about walking on and I also talked to a lot of D2 programs and they may have offered me a scholarship but I was honest and didn't lead them on if I wasn't initially interested.

BHB: Do you think you could kick a football from the Pioneer High sign on the corner of Stadium and Main into the Big House?JR: That's a really good question. I think it's definitely worth a shot and I'll have to try it some time. I'd say it's a possibility though.